1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a thermally activating device which performs thermal activation of a heat-sensitive adhesive sheet, and to a printer apparatus which performs printing on such a sheet.
2. Description of the Related Art
A heat-sensitive adhesive label is expected to be utilized as a label pasted on a product produced/marketed in a food factory or a supermarket for displaying, for example, a trade name, a price, a use-by date and the like. The heat-sensitive adhesive label has an adhesive layer which does not have an adhesive force in a normal state. This adhesive layer is activated by application of heat energy to this adhesive layer, and thus is set capable of being pasted on an object. Including such a heat-sensitive adhesive label, a sheet having a similar adhesive layer is referred to in general as a heat-sensitive adhesive sheet in this specification.
Heretofore, as a thermally activating device which activates such a heat-sensitive adhesive label, one has been developed, which heats up the heat-sensitive adhesive label by a thermal head on which a large number of heat generating elements are formed, and thus activates the adhesive layer thereof.
Usually, such a thermally activating device constitutes a printer apparatus having a thermal activation function by being combined with a printing mechanism which performs printing on a printing surface of the heat-sensitive adhesive label, and with a cutting mechanism which cuts a continuous heat-sensitive adhesive sheet wound in a roll shape into a predetermined length. In such a printer apparatus, usually, the cutting mechanism is installed at a posterior stage of the printing mechanism, and the thermally activating device is installed at a posterior stage of the cutting mechanism.
Moreover, the applicant of this invention has previously described an invention, in which, when the heat-sensitive adhesive label is carried from the cutting mechanism to a thermally activating mechanism, a carrying-out speed of the cutting mechanism and a carry-in speed of the thermally activating mechanism are differentiated, and thus the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet is bent between a carrying-out portion of the cutting mechanism and an insertion portion of the thermally activating mechanism so as to swell toward one surface side, and is then carried to the thermally activating mechanism (Patent Document 1).
By bending the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet between the two mechanisms in such a manner, obtained is an effect that the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet can be temporarily stopped and subjected to the cutting process in a region of the cutting mechanism while the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet is subjected to the thermal activation process while being moved at a required speed without being stopped in a region of the thermally activating mechanism.
However, in the case of using the cutting mechanism and the thermally activating mechanism in combination as described above, a so-called jam sometimes occurs, in which the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet carried out of the cutting mechanism is not inserted properly into the insertion portion of the thermally activating mechanism, and jams at that portion.
It has been found that, in particular, in the case of adopting a configuration so as to bend the sheet between the cutting mechanism and the thermally activating mechanism as described in Patent Document 1, the jam occurs at an unignorable frequency if no contrivance is made because it is possible for the sheet to swell and escape toward the one surface side.
It is required that the thermal activation process be performed after cutting the sheet, and accordingly, cut ends of the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet are inserted into the thermally activating mechanism every time. Therefore, a jam occurrence rate of the sheet ends in the thermally activating mechanism directly appears as an error occurrence rate of the printer apparatus. Hence, it is very important to lower the jam occurrence rate of this portion.
An object of this invention is to lower a jam occurrence frequency in a mechanism which allows entries of leading ends of the carried heat-sensitive adhesive sheet and curled sheet, and convey the sheets.